HEALTH Schools need to think beyond team sports

HEALTH KICK??A new approach to exercise is needed for the many children who do not like team sports.

What if I don’t want to play?


Thinking beyond team sports

Personal trainer
Paul O'Brien

Part 1
Obesity is a health crisis. When a disease spreads beyond national boundaries and affects large areas of the planet it becomes known as a pandemic. Obesity is a pandemic. A 2011 Oireachtas report estimated that 26 percent of Irish children were either overweight or obese – that’s around 300,000 children. The report also stated that this figure was increasing by 10,000 or more year-on-year. The report also found that:

• One in four teenagers are either overweight or obese
• Since 1990, there has been an eight-fold increase in male childhood obesity and a two-fold increase in female
• Children’s weight and obesity are strongly linked to that of their parents
• The direct and indirect costs related to the obesity crisis are costing the country about €500 million annually

There are good news stories too, though. Some schools are taking action by removing vending machines selling sweets and soft drinks. Schools are also educating their students around the issue of junk food and the need for optimal nutrition. I have spoken in some schools about exercise and diet to children who were hungry (pardon the pun) for the information. Some parents are also taking action, educating their children about the importance of exercise and healthy eating, removing sweet foods from their houses and changing their children’s attitudes towards food and exercise.
This is all admirable and much needed. However, I would argue that we also need a new approach to exercise. For too long, our educational system has promoted exercise through the playing of predominantly team sports. Priority has been given to GAA, soccer and rugby in too many schools around the country. As a teenager, I loved these sports. But I also liked to run. My PE teacher didn’t, however, and I was never encouraged to partake in athletics during school hours until towards the end of secondary school. Unfortunately, in many places, this hasn’t changed.
I fully value the importance of the above-mentioned team sports. These sports teach our children about team work and collective responsibility, and they ingrain a competitive edge that will help them achieve in later life. In the case of GAA, it also lies at the heart of being Irish and carries on a proud tradition that promotes community spirit and national pride.
However, I also recognise that there remains a percentage of children who don’t like these sports. In the absence of other outlets for exercise for these children, they become more susceptible to exclusion and, through a lack of exercise, weight issues.
So, what can be done? Again, there are schools seizing the initiative by organising running and athletic programmes and after-school clubs of various disciplines. In some places children now have access to dance classes, gymnastics, tennis and many other disciplines. This is an important part of the solution and needs to become widespread practice. However, I fear it will not go far enough. Indeed, though some schools may have run these programmes for a number of years, they still experience rising levels of obesity amongst their students.
Perhaps what is needed is inner change? Though offering more choice and opportunities to take part in exercise will help somewhat, it will not encourage the child who would simply rather sit and play video games than run about. We need to help children to make an attitudinal adjustment. This can be done by creating a new paradigm around exercise. It begins by going back to basics.
Next week, we’ll look at how to help children make that radical attitudinal adjustment.

Paul O’Brien is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westport.